The Dragon and the Rose
by CTina
Summary: My first D/H fic!!! Be nice. Hermione's family is murdered while she 'slept'. So she has to live at Hogwarts with her baby sister. There she finds out that she's part of an extict order. I suck at summaries. But the first chappy is awesome!! Trust me. R


My first ever Draco/Hermione fic.  
  
Disclaimer: Everything but the plot is hers.  
  
After you read this, if indeed you don't turn away first, please review.  
  
The Dragon and the Rose  
  
Chapter one  
  
Charms and Murder  
  
~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~  
  
"Happy Birthday, Hermione." Her mother smiled holding out a long thin box.  
  
Her father grinned and rubbed her back, "Go one, honey, before I'll have to take from you and open it myself."  
  
"Maybe you should." Hermione muttered.  
  
"Okay." Her father said and snatched the box from her hands.  
  
"No, no! Dad." She jumped up and tried to grab it from him. He held it above his head and waved it around.  
  
"You asked for it." He laughed at her irritated face.  
  
"I didn't mean it, give it back!"  
  
He grinned, "What do you say?"  
  
She glared at him and stomped her foot. A very un-Hermione-like gesture, but seeing as she was at home, she could be her normal stubborn self. "Now!" She snapped and jumped again.  
  
"Come on, Jon, give it to her." Her mother said.  
  
Her father rolled his eyes and handed the gift to Hermione. She grinned triumphantly and stuck her tongue out before she plopped down in the recliner and ripped the paper off the box.  
  
Taking a deep breath, she opened the box and gasped. Inside strapped to the blue velvet, was a sparkling silver charm bracelet with three charms connected to it.  
  
"It was your mother's idea. I picked out the star, for knowledge. Even if you don't need it." Hermione fingered the silver star with the sapphire center.  
  
"I picked tha' one, din't I, Daddy?" Hermione's three year old sister, Corriel chirped up, pointing at a tiny silver cat with emerald eyes.  
  
Corriel crawled onto her sister's lap. Hermione hugged her and kissed her cheek saying, "It's beautiful, Cory."  
  
"He looks jus' like Cwookshanks, don't he?" The tiny girl exclaimed clapping her hands together gleefully.  
  
"'Doesn't he'." Hermione corrected. And then, "Yes, he does. It's remarkable."  
  
Cory turned and smiled at her parents. "See, I told you she'd like it." She said to her father.  
  
He laughed and pulled her off of Hermione's lap kissing her cheek and making popping sounds. Cory giggled and pushed him away.  
  
"Stop it, Daddy, that tickles."  
  
"Time for bed, Pumpkin." He said carrying her over to say good night to her mother.  
  
Cory's face screwed up and she said in a high pitched voice hovering on tears, "But Daddy, I'm not sleepy." Her words were bellied on the enormous yawn that escaped her mouth.  
  
Mr. Granger laughed again. "Yes, you are. Come one, I'll read you your new book."  
  
Her perked up squirmed so he'd let her down. Pulling his hand, she led the way to the stairs. Shooting an apologetic glance at his wife and older daughter, he said, "I'll be down in a bit."  
  
Mrs. Granger waved him off, "Yeah, yeah. Be gone already." She said playfully and grinned at his mock hurt face.  
  
When he was gone, she turned to Hermione who was still admiring the bracelet. Getting up and moving closer, she took the bracelet from Hermione's hands.  
  
"Hold out your wrist." She said. Hermione obeyed and watched as the gorgeous piece of jewelry was clasped to herself.  
  
Her mother fingered the last charm, a ruby rose with a tiny diamond in the center petal. "It's for love." She said and looked into Hermione's face.  
  
"Love, happiness, friendship, enchantment and power." She grinned. "Though mostly for love."  
  
Hermione didn't know what to say, so instead she fingered the prettiest charm on the bracelet from her mother.  
  
Her mother went on, "I first met your father in college. He sat right behind me in Professor Lector's English class. I was really shy and didn't have a lot of friends, and well, he was the handsome jock that everyone loved. So it came as a sort of surprise when I found a red rose on my desk on Valentine's Day with a note asking me out for coffee on Friday. It was so perfect."  
  
Hermione was familiar with the story. She'd often felt jealous of the love her parents shared for each other. It had come so easy for them.  
  
Her mother shook her head and smiled at her daughter. "Anyway, I just wanted to say how very proud of you I am. You've accomplished so much more than I could have. And I love you so very much."  
  
Hermione's eyes filled with tears and she hugged her mother fiercely. "I love you too, mom."  
  
"Ahem," They looked up at a smiling Mr. Granger. "Don't I get a hug too?"  
  
They laughed and pulled him into their hug.  
  
Later that night, Hermione lay awake longer than anyone else. She admired the beauty of the gift from her family. Though money was never a problem for the Grangers, it must have cost a fortune for she could see that the quality of the jewels was top notch and extremely valuable. She couldn't wait to show Ginny and the guys at Hogwarts. They would all die of jealousy.  
  
Sighing, she switched off her bedside lamp and rolled over, closing her eyes.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Crusio!" She heard someone yell, followed by the high pitched screams of someone in agony. Scrambling out of her blankets, Hermione ran to her door, grabbing her wand on her way out.  
  
"Stop! You're hurting her." Her father's desperate voice came from the den.  
  
"Of course it hurts, you stupid muggle."  
  
"But you'll kill her." She heard her father cry helplessly. He couldn't go to his wife to ease her pain as one of Voldemort's Death Eaters held his arms behind his back.  
  
"You really are starting to bore me." Voldemort hissed. He removed the spell off of Mrs. Granger. She stopped screaming but tears ran down her cheeks and she couldn't stop shaking.  
  
"See Mister Granger, she's already too far gone for you to save her anyway. Can't you see how dull her eyes are? She's lost her mind, that's what Crusio does to you. Now she's the perfect puppet, or she would be if she could use a wand, see? Imperio!" Voldemort said.  
  
Jon Granger watched in horror as his wife stood up and did a backwards flip.  
  
Voldemort laughed. "That's amazing, isn't it? But it's not quite as much as having her kill you with her bare hands." He paused dramatically. And raised his fingers to his non-existent lips. "Now that's an idea! Lets just see what happens, shall we?"  
  
Watching from the stairs, Hermione saw her mother walk into the kitchen, and heard the opening and closing of the silverware drawer. Mrs. Granger came back out with a steak knife.  
  
Mr. Granger's eyes welled up with tears, "Please don't, Kat." But he could see the dullness Voldemort had spoken of in her eyes. He closed his own eyes as his wife and love of his life plunged the knife into his heart. He wouldn't feel anymore after that even though she kept on stabbing him until her face was dripping in blood.  
  
"That's quite enough, muggle. Avada Kedavra." Her mother's body fell over onto her already dead husband.  
  
"No!" Hermione screamed and ran into the den, her wand raised. No one lifted an arm to stop her. But when she neared Voldemort, he raised his hand and said slowly and evenly, "Burn, Mudblood, burn." He laughed and snapped his fingers. Then, followed by his Death Eaters, he apparated away.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~  
  
A sharp searing pain in her arms, caused her to cry out.  
  
She sat up panting for breath in her bed. Her thick hair was plastered to her sweaty face.  
  
Crookshanks had sunk his claws in her arms to wake her up.  
  
She breathed a sigh of relief. "All a dream," she whispered, petting Crookshanks's coarse orange fur. "All a dream."  
  
Suddenly Crookshanks leapt from the bed, and clawed at the door. She sighed and swung her legs over her bed. Pulling her hair into a pony tail, she trudged to the door.  
  
She pulled her hand back with a hiss of pain. The door handle was burning hot. She shook her head, remembering Voldemort's last words in her dream. 'Burn, Mudblood, burn.'  
  
Then she noticed the smoke coming in from under the door.  
  
"Mommy, Daddy!" Someone screamed.  
  
"Ohmigod! Cory!" She pulled open the door. Heat blasted her and made her falter in her step.  
  
Looking down the hallway, she saw bright flames licking the walls. The family pictures hanging on them were black, the glass had already burst.  
  
"Cory!" Hermione screamed desperately. And hurried to her door, throwing it open.  
  
Cory was huddled in a corner under the window, rocking back and forth, clutching her bunny rabbit. "Mine-ee." The girl cried and held out her arms.  
  
Hermione breathed a sigh and rushed to her sister. She swung the small girl into her arms and ran as quickly as she could from the smoke filled room.  
  
"Crookshanks!" She called. Looking around the top floor, she didn't see the cat anywhere. She knew she shouldn't be thinking about her cat but she couldn't help it. "Crookshanks!" She screamed. Then she heard it, at the bottom of the stairs, his meow.  
  
"Oh, thank you." She whispered and made her way as fast as she could to the top of the stairs.  
  
The smoke was blinding and hurt her eyes. She coughed.  
  
Cory started coughing.  
  
"Breath into my blouse, baby, and keep your eyes closed. We're almost there." Cory nodded and Hermione could feel her hot breath through her pajamas.  
  
Behind her in one of the rooms, a window shattered. The house creaked, she heard a beam falling in the attic.  
  
"Please don't collapse yet." She prayed. They reached the down stairs, her eyes were practically closed now but she forced herself to keep them open as much as it hurt. The kitchen door was the closest one. Afraid of what she might see, she avoided the den and stumbled into the kitchen, another window shattered upstairs.  
  
"Please, please, please." She raised her leg and kicked at the door. It didn't budge. "Damn it!" She screamed angrily and reached into her pocket for her wand.  
  
She grasped it firmly in her hand, "Reducto!" She shielded her sister as best she could from the splinters that flew in every direction. More windows shattered, she rushed from the house and ran into the yard. she made it to the far fence before her legs gave out in pain and she collapsed.  
  
Laying on her back holding her sister in her arms she watched as her home dissolved into flames. She'd only just made it out in time because no sooner had she finally stopped running, then the roof gave out on itself.  
  
At first she didn't notice it, but then she did. The glowing green Skull and Serpent was sure enough, hovering over the Granger property. Her vision was fuzzy and going black but still she stared at the Dark Mark, untill all she could see was the black of the insides of her eye lids.  
  
~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hermione was in and out of consciousness. She had no idea where she was or who was with her, but she knew that she was safe.  
  
Occasionally, she'd wake up long enough to catch little snippets of a conversation.  
  
"--rarily blind, Albus..."  
  
"Grangers--dead..."  
  
"You-Know-Who, of course..."  
  
"Poor children. All alone..."  
  
"Draco Malfoy--similar situation."  
  
"Miss Granger? Hermione, can you hear me?" A kind voice that she knew, broke in to the blackness of her mind.  
  
She tried to move but stopped immediately when pain seared through her entire body.  
  
"Careful, Miss Granger, the pain is still very new. We're waiting for the potion from Severus to cool so you can heal properly."  
  
"Hello, Professor Dumbledore." She whispered. Her throat was dry and her voice raspy.  
  
She tried to open her eyes but all she saw was black.  
  
The old man smiled and held a glass of water to her flaky lips. She took a sip and winced as it flowed down her throat. It hurt even for the coolness of the liquid. She choked and coughed. Then tasted the unmistakable coppery tang of blood in her mouth.  
  
Dumbledore eased her into a sitting position and handed her a handkerchief so she could spit out the blood. Sitting up was easier on the pain than she would have thought.  
  
Timidly, she raised her hands to her face and felt only bandaging wrapped around her head.  
  
"Unfortunately, the heat of the smoke and the fire, has burned your eyes. The blindness is only temporary, mind, until Severus's potion is complete."  
  
"Where's Cory?" She croaked suddenly. "My parents?"  
  
Dumbledore smiled and said, "That remarkable young girl is currently in the staff room intertaining the professors with her amazing ability to read. That is quite a feat for one so young as three, may I add." His tone was amused.  
  
Hermione smiled briefly before asking, "My parents?"  
  
She could tell by the pause in the air that her assumptions were correct.  
  
"Voldemort." He said simply.  
  
She sighed and asked so quietly, he could barely hear her. "How did they die?"  
  
"Miss Granger, I don't think right now is the appropriate time to discuss this." He said sadly and rose to his feet.  
  
She snatched out a hand and grabbed a fist of his robes and pulled him down to her level and said in a harsh whisper. "Listen to me! I have just had the worst night of my life, I lost my parents to a murderer, and now I have to think of a way to tell my sister that our parents are dead so she won't have nightmares for the rest of her life. So tell me, how... did... they... die?"  
  
She gasped as though just realizing what she had done and said to the Headmaster of Hogwarts. "I'm sorry, professor. I didn't mean to do that."  
  
He grasped her hand and removed it from his robes. "It's quite alright." He sighed. "I guess, I don't have much of a choice right now, do I?"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
**It's not a cliffy. You know how they died. I just don't want to relive the horror again. J/k**  
  
What do you think? Good/Bad?  
  
I promise, there is a plot. I just hasn't unfolded itself yet. (*HintHint*Next two or three chapters*HintHint)  
  
Summary:  
  
It's the summer of her sixth year. Hermione's just had a birthday and she received a charm bracelet with three charms on it, A star, a cat, and a ruby red rose with a tiny diamond in the center from her family.  
  
Her family was murdered while she slept, and when she woke up, her house was on fire. She saved her baby sister and got outside. Then at Hogwarts, she finds herself in the hospital room with bandages over her eyes.  
  
Blahblahblah, you read it. (I hope.)  
  
Anyway, what do you think will happen? What's this tiny 'snippet' about Draco Malfoy?  
  
Will Cory be able to stay with her at Hogwarts?  
  
How come Hermione didn't wake up when her parents were murdered?  
  
ALL ANSWERS YET TO COME!!! Now all that's left is to review! Please do so. 


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